Preparations for the upcoming HELCOM Ministerial Meeting on October 2012
The annual meeting of the Helsinki Commission Maritime Group (HELCOM MARITIME) gathered last week representatives of the nine Baltic coastal states, EU and a large number of observers from shipping, port and environmental organisations for a three day meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark . Besides a number of currently topical issues, the preparations for the upcoming HELCOM Ministerial Meeting, to take place during October 2013 in Copenhagen, give a special flavour to the event.
Non-indigenous or alien species are spread to, and within, the Baltic Sea via ballast waters used by ships for balancing purposes. The meeting considered a proposal for regionally harmonised requirements for applying and granting exemptions from the regulations of the global Ballast Water Management Convention (BWMC), administered by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).
A targeted project activity within HELCOM has submitted a proposal for a set of regional standards related to exemptions from the ballast water management measures included in the Ballast Water Management Convention.
The proposal covers requirements for port survey data to be included in exemption application by shipowners, criteria for especially harmful target species and risk assessment models to be used in decision making, storage of the survey data as well as administrative issues. The proposal aims for an effective and harmonious implementation of the BWMC in the Baltic Sea by providing for higher scientific credibility, greater transparency and lower costs.
Exemptions and other ballast water issues are high on the Baltic maritime agenda as Denmark and Russia have this year followed Sweden and ratified the BWM Convention, and thus, formally confirming their willingness to be bound by the agreement. The regulations in the BWM Convention will likely enter into force by the end of 2013 due to a sufficient number of ratifications worldwide. These developments have created an express need to agree on various details of the regulations included in the BWM Convention. The work carried out within HELCOM is focused on the Baltic but close cooperation with OSPAR, a sister organisation in the North-East Atlantic, tries to harmonise implementation within a larger area.
Discharges and reception of wastewater in the Baltic Sea ports is another central topic and the meeting will discuss a proposal for a guidance on sewage delivery. The need to provide such facilities by 2015 follows from the nomination of the Baltic as a special area for sewage for passenger ships by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), in 2010, based on a proposal developed within HELCOM.
According to the general international rules minimally treated sewage from ships can be dumped to the sea when more than 12 nm from the shoreline. The new IMO regulation would ban such practices in the Baltic Sea and require passenger ships and ferries to either treat their sewage on board or deliver it at port. The large sewage volumes of modern cruise ships and the short time at ports call for upgrades in the facilities of many Baltic ports.
According to HELCOM Recommendations, and the guidance proposal, the fees related to such deliveries of waste in the Baltic Sea should not induce illegal activities and thus apply the “no special fee” system. A targeted workshop on the “no special fee” was held on Monday, with participation from coastal countries, EU, shipping industry, ports and other stakeholders. The workshop was co-organised by HELCOM, the Finnish Transport Safety Agency and Priority Area on Clean Shipping of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, led by the Danish Maritime Administration, in cooperation with the Baltic Institute of Finland.
Source: HELCOM